Paige Whiteley, BACP

Paige Whiteley helps people manage stress, anxiety, relationship strain, trauma and abuse, parenting challenges and depression. She is a BACP counsellor with 15 years of post-qualification experience and works from an integrative stance to meet each person's needs.

She trained at Joseph Priestley College and gained a BSc in Counselling and Psychotherapy at Leeds Beckett University. Her training also includes a postgraduate certificate in supervision and qualifications in several therapeutic approaches and related practice areas. Over the years she has combined private practice with organisational work.

Early in her career she spent time delivering one-to-one therapeutic support and running workshops in a school setting for children aged 5 to 11 and for staff. She later worked for 12 years at a South Yorkshire mental health charity, supporting adults experiencing trauma and related issues.

Her practice has involved helping people through grief and loss, fertility problems, relationship difficulties, depression, anxiety and the effects of abuse. She also has experience with adoption and foster care, ageing and geriatric issues, attachment and neurodiversity, chronic illness and disability, and a range of personality and relationship concerns.

In sessions she aims to build a steady therapeutic relationship where people can talk through their thoughts and feelings. She adapts her approach to match what each person needs, focusing on finding and changing limiting beliefs and practical steps that help day-to-day life.

How therapeutic approaches work online

Paige uses evidence-based therapeutic techniques, drawing on approaches that focus on understanding thoughts, feelings and behaviours and on helping people change unhelpful patterns. One approach she uses helps identify and shift limiting beliefs that get in the way of daily life; this is useful for anxiety, low mood and relationship problems. Another approach focuses on trauma-informed methods that support people to process past distress and build coping strategies for triggers and flashbacks.

Choosing the right approach is part of the work together. The counsellor will talk about what seems to fit best based on a person's concerns, goals and preferences, and adapt methods as progress is made. This is a collaborative process where the client and counsellor check in and agree next steps.

Online sessions are offered by video call, phone, live chat or text messaging to give practical flexibility. Video calls allow face-to-face conversation when needed, phone sessions can work well when bandwidth is limited, and text or chat can suit short check-ins or people who prefer not to be on camera. These options make it easier to fit counselling around work, family and other commitments.